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Little All-City football: Austin Brooks makes right throw at right time for OCS

LITTLE ALL-CITY OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR — Austin Brooks tossed 54 touchdown passes for Oklahoma Christian School this season, but none bigger than the last one in the fourth quarter of the Class 2A state championship game against Davis.

Little All-City high school football player Austin Brooks of Oklahoma Christian School poses for a photo in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman

Austin Brooks tossed 54 touchdown passes for Oklahoma Christian School this season, but none bigger than the last one in the fourth quarter of the Class 2A state championship game against Davis.

Facing fourth-and-goal from the 5, Brooks was getting pressure in the pocket when he lofted a sidearm pass off his back foot toward the corner of the end zone.

“All of the things we tell him not to do,” OCS coach Derek Turner said.

Saints wide receiver Will McKinnis hadn't made his cut yet, but Brooks had to throw the ball early because of the Davis pass rush.

“I just had to get it up and trust him to get there,” Brooks said. “I threw it way up. All my friends told me later they thought it was over. They thought I threw it out of bounds.”

Turner thought he had thrown it out of bounds, too.

“It just floated out there,” he said.

Instead, it was a perfect pass for the game-winning touchdown in the Saints' 44-41 win and the kind of play Brooks made all season.

Brooks, who led OCS to its first state football championship in the Edmond school's history, is The Oklahoman's Little All-City Offensive Player of the Year.

In addition to his 54 touchdowns, Brooks threw for 3,599 yards and completed 65 percent of his passes in leading the Saints to a 14-1 record, losing only to Class 3A state semifinalist Jones by one point.

During one three-game stretch of the regular season, Brooks threw more touchdown passes in each game than he did incomplete passes.

The 6-foot-4 senior took over as OCS starting quarterback three games into his sophomore season. In the preseason, the Saints expected to be good offensively this year, but Brooks' ability to throw the ball and operate the spread offense with precision turned OCS into a special team in 2012.

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Ed Godfrey was born in Muskogee and raised in Stigler. He has worked at The Oklahoman for 25 years. During that time, he has worked a myriad of beats for The Oklahoman including both the federal and county courthouse in Oklahoma City for more...